Man, surprises are happening all over the place – I love it!
First we had Kathryn’s big surprise last night; now today, Jay and I were lucky enough to get some surprise visitors…
Mi familia! 
Turns out, they actually came at pretty much the perfect time, on the perfect day, because I was just taking dinner out of the oven when they arrived, and I had more than enough to feed everyone. YAY for dinner guests!
Earlier today, I was skimming through some of my dinner recipes to try and get an idea on what to make for dinner. Originally, I thought it’d be a good idea to make a bigger meal that would give us plenty of leftovers for during the week so I went with an old favorite, the Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole. Even though we don’t have any leftovers, I’m still totally glad I made it.
On the side, we had some fresh garlic steamed green beans, but since there wasn’t enough of those for everyone, I quickly cooked up a can of peas.
My family loves their peas…and their casseroles, too. 
We all ate in the living room since our kitchen table is a little too tiny (yeah, Thanksgiving will be interesting…) and even had it a full family-affair once Cody decided to come and grace us with his presence.
He was obviously totally annoyed by tonight’s surprise company. 
Shortly after dinner, it was time to dig into dessert which I have been waiting alllll afternoon for. Oh yes, there was a little baking happening in the kitchen today…
I have been craving my favorite Apple Crisp recipe ever since I last posted about it, so today was finally the day to make it happen. I switched things up a bit by adding in about 3/4 of a bag of fresh cranberries to my original recipe to make for a decadent Cranberry Apple Crisp.
And of course, you can’t have apple crisp without a little vanilla ice cream on top now, am I right?
I am in my glory right now.
Question for the Evening:
Did you have any surprises of your own this weekend?
Welcome to Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life! I'm Courtney, a 28-year old personal trainer living in Upstate, NY. I enjoy all things related to food, fitness, and fashion, as well as feeding my huge sweet tooth. To find out a little bit more about the girl behind the blog, check out my 
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
That apple cranberry crisp looks fantastic… lots of surprises this weekend – spent it back in my college town and kept running in to familiar faces!
Lauren @ Sugar Coated Sisters recently posted..Hasloween, Part I
The Ravens winning this afternoon was a bit of a surprise! I hadn’t lost faith in my team, but it was a rough start to the game and I wasn’t quite sure what was going to happen–especially after Monday night’s loss!
Colleen @ Jimmy Choos on the Treadmill recently posted..Question and Answer, Round One
LOVE the idea of adding cranberries to apple crisp!
Savannah @ Sweet and Savvy recently posted..Of Interest
You are super prepared to have enough to eat for all of them! Family are the best kind of visitors! (that and close friends of corse!)
….I would have surprised you too if I were them- it all looks sooooo yummy! 
Julie H. of Spinach and Sprinkles recently posted..Fro-yo(U) & P.T. Conference week
That was so sweet of your lovely family to stop by! What an epic surprise.
We got a HUGE surprise in the form of SNOW last night. Totally not expected! We even lost power!
Heather recently posted..I’m Dreaming of a White…Halloween?
Yummy! No big surprises…but I did enjoy a nice relaxing weekend at home!
Emily @ Perfection Isn’t Happy recently posted..Casual Date Night
I saved this recipe the first time I saw it on your blog & I think I’m finally going to get around to try it this week!
Erica @ For the Sake of Cake recently posted..Snow Day
Cheese, chicken and rice… What more could ya want? I may have to try your recipe this week!!! It looks super yum.
Mandee recently posted..Spooky spidery candy corny cupcakes!
Your surprises are way better than mine which would be 24 hours and counting without power! Love that you added cranberries to the apple crisp, great idea and they add a fun tartness to it I bet.
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen recently posted..Cinnamon pear pancakes
Awesome looking meal! Especially that ice cream at the end…you definitely just made me start craving it.
Caitlin recently posted..Another Guest Post: The Actor’s Diet
We had a friend announce her pregnancy at the Halloween party we went to
Lindsey recently posted..Halloween Fun!
Yum! That casserole looks awesome! And apple crisp is by far one of my favorites! Looks like you had a weekend full of great eats!
Molly@hungryhungryrunner.com recently posted..October Foodie Pen Pals – Guest Post
the recipe looks delicious! Just curious, what type of brown rice and salsa did you use for this recipe??
Just instant brown rice and Newman’s Own medium salsa
I bet your family also thought it was the perfect day to show up- that dinner looks SO yum! What about a Thanksgiving buffet? It could save your table dilemma!
I’ve thought about it!
That is so sweet that your family came to visit! That chicken and rice bake looks delicious. I love casseroles like that. The leftovers are even better
Hope recently posted..A Newman’s Own Kind of Pre-Halloween Night…
Aw, Cody looks happy in company. Your thanksgiving dinner is going to be great! Courtney, I’m really glad your career plans are going well been real busy and haven’t done much with the blog things for ages but it’s always great to see the happy news from your part of the world – really encouraging, and I hope to fill you in on my ‘progress’ with those creative things soon! Sarah x
Sarah @ Practice Princess recently posted..Hubby Not Well
I made a cranberry apple crisp a week ago and it was SO delicious!! Gotta love all that delicious autumn flavor!
Heather recently posted..Simply Saturday
No.